John Isles of Hanover, Michigan writes:

For centuries, suitors would carve names on coins before tossing them into the river. Mudlark Steve Brooker has unearthed hundreds of them.

During the reign of William III, in the second half of the 17th century, it was the fashion for a young man to give a crooked coin to the object of his affections.

The suitor would bend the coin, both to make it an amulet and to prevent it being reused. If the token was kept, it indicated that affection was reciprocated, but if the coin was discarded then itwas a rejection.

Mudlark Steve Brooker has unearthed thousands of coins from the banks of the River Thames over the past 25 years. In spite of his appearance - chest-high bespattered waders, grizzled beard andclutching a yellow plastic bucket and trowel - Brooker is a romantic at heart. Of all the treasures he has discovered in the mud, he cherishes his collection of love tokens the most, even if hispassion for collecting them might occasionally risk compromising his own romantic appeal. "The smell is so unbearable down there it's unreal," he says. "Even once you've had a shower you stink. Mywife is a bit upset about it."

With a river flowing forever to the sea, there is a sense of a connection to the infinite. There is also an undeniable romance in the notion of a lover secretly throwing a token into thewater.

For centuries, smoothed coins were used as love tokens, with the initials of the sender engraved or embossed on the surface. Sometimes these were pierced, which gave recipient the option to wearit around the neck.

Brooker's collection ranges from heavy silver coins with initials professionally engraved, to pennies worn smooth through hours of labour and painstakingly engraved letters. The amount of effortexpended in working these coins - smoothing, engraving or cutting them - speaks of the longing of the makers.

It was not part of the conceit that someone might ever find these coins centuries later. We can only surmise that engraving your or your beloved's name on a coin and throwing it into the water wasa gesture to attract good fortune.

Carol writes:

To read the complete article, see:
Tokens of unrequited love? Thames yields 'crooked coins' tossed in by romantics(https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2018/feb/09/tokens-unrequited-love-thames-mudlark)